How To Build A Druid For The 2024 Rules In DnD

The druid in Dungeons & Dragons has a dual identity, drawing power from nature to cast spells that can support or hinder others, while also being able to transform into beasts that can take to the front lines with ease. With the release of the 2024 Player’s Handbook, Druids have received several updates aimed at simplifying their abilities while keeping their versatility.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to build a druid using the 2024 rules and highlight the key differences from the 2014 edition. We will also delve into the different subclasses, and the few changes made to what you can wild shape into.

Druid Highlights

Druids are a class defined by their connection to nature and their ability to use powerful spells and beast forms. The 2024 Player’s Handbook has made it so these two features communicate, allowing for more effective use of wild shape and spellcasting. At their core, druids remain masters of adaptability, excelling in both combat and utility roles thanks to their spell list and transformative abilities.

One of the biggest improvements in the 2024 rules is the added flexibility of wild shape, allowing for more frequent use and enhanced combat abilities when in beast form. Druids are also able to swap spell slots for wild shape charges and vice versa, letting you focus on whatever role you require, or maintaining a much-needed level of versatility.

Differences From The 2024 Player’s Handbook

Like all other classes in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, druids now gain their subclass at level three, when before it was at level two. This in itself isn’t a major change, but it does open the opportunity for druids to gain more customization options, as well as other uses for their spell slots and wild shape uses.

Wild Shape

Druid’s ability to become animals, also known as wild shape, has had several changes in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Let’s start with the biggest change: you no longer replace your hit points with the beast’s hit points, you instead retain your own, and simply gain temporary hit points that equal your druid level.

This means two things: now all your forms have the same amount of health (a serious nerf for several large beasts, but a buff whenever you become a cat), and you can’t be knocked out of the form unless you are knocked out yourself: losing the temporary hit points does not take you out of your wild shape.

Another change that can be considered a nerf is that you have to choose what you can transform into ahead of time. You pick four forms at level two (that limit is expanded as you level up), and you can change those forms when you long rest.

Now for the good stuff: using wild shape is a bonus action for all druids, not just circle of the moon ones. You can also speak while wild shaped, and the no swimming beast restriction at early levels has been removed, giving the feature more versatility than just claws for combat encounters.

The big change, however, is that you no longer have to have seen the beast in order to transform into it. It still needs to fall into the challenge rating restrictions, but as long as your DM allows it, you can become any beast from any source.

Subclass Highlights

The 2024 Player’s Handbook brings back a few subclasses we already know and love, like the circle of the land and the circle of the stars. The circle of the moon also makes a return, with a few changes to balance the fact that wild shape has changed so much.

That is not all, however, since there is also a new subclass: circle of the sea. Don’t worry; it isn’t exclusive to underwater combat, and in fact, it brings the water above sea level, controlling the combat zone with emanations that push enemies around.

Circle Of The Land

The circle of the land druids made their most significant choice when they gained the subclass, since they had to choose a specific type of land, from which future spells would be learned. Now, in 2024, there are only four lands to choose from, and you can change your land after a long rest.

This means that, in essence, you have access to all the lands on offer, and you even gain resistances as you level up based on the land’s terrain. Higher level features have also been changed to include more area damage and support, giving the circle of the land druids consistency at those levels, as well as reliable options no matter what land they attune to.

Circle Of The Moon

With all the changes to wild shape, the circle of the moon druids needed a few buffs, and they gained them. For starters, they can now cast a few spells while wild shaped, being able to Conjure Animals or cast Moonbeam at far away enemies.

Circle of the moon druids can no longer use spell slots to heal, but instead they can cast Cure Wounds, which heals 2D8 + Wisdom modifier in 2024.

Since combat is a big focus for these druids, the temporary hit points and armor class of their wild shape is heavily improved. The armor class, for example, is equal to 13 plus their Wisdom modifier, unless the form’s AC is higher.

The elemental shapes are gone from level ten, with the moon druids instead teleporting around with moon magic. This power is expanded upon at level 14, giving druids more damage when wild shaped, as well as the ability to teleport allies with them.

Circle Of The Sea

These water-centric druids are all about spell casting and controlling the battlefield, gaining a special feature called wrath of the sea. By spending a wild shape use, they can emanate a constant flow of water around them that damages nearby enemies and pushes them away.

They also gain several spells themed around water and storms, like Thunderwave, Control Water, and Ice Storm. They get a fly speed at level 10, and at 14 they can share their watery emanation with an ally of their choice.

Circle Of The Stars

The circle of the stars subclass has been modified slightly in 2024, making it more cohesive than its 2014 counterpart. You still use your wild shape uses to take on a starry form, but it takes a bonus action instead of an action; other than that, the forms remain the same.

• Archer Form: gain a bonus action attack, dealing 1D8 plus your Wisdom modifier in damage.
• Chalice Form: Gain 1D8 plus your Wisdom modifier in health whenever you heal a creature (you can target someone other than yourself for both effects)
• Dragon Form: When you roll to maintain concentration, any roll lower than ten in the D20 is treated as a ten.

At level ten, however, all these forms get upgraded in some way, adding a D8 to the effects of archer and chalice forms, and giving you fly speed while in dragon form. You can also swap forms during combat, but only at the start of each turn.

Full of stars, the feature gained at level ten, is now gained at 14, and it does the same: become partially incorporeal to gain resistance to physical damage. The star flare ability is completely gone, although the damage output of the subclass is more than made up for by the level ten upgrades.

Best Species Options

Since Ability Scores aren’t determined by species anymore, you can feel free to pick whatever feels right for you. If you want the best possible option for your druid, however, you first need to decide if you’re going to spend most of your time as a humanoid or as a beast.

If you’ll be using spells most of the time, the aasimar species can work really well, since their traits can make for interesting combos. Their celestial revelations and healing hands make them great druids of circles like land, sea and stars.

Moon druids, however, might benefit from certain traits unlocked by other species, although you should make sure to consult with your Dungeon Master if these traits can be used while wild shaped. Things like a dwarf’s tremorsense, a halfling’s nimbleness or an orc’s relentless endurance, can make your animal form even better than it might already be.

Best Stat Placement

Your main focus is going to be Wisdom, no matter what type of druid you’ll be playing. Most are spellcasters, but moon druids, for example, get an armor class bonus if their Wisdom is high enough, while other melee-focused druids will mostly rely on Shillelagh for damage, at least at lower levels.

Constitution should be your next focus, particularly due to the nerf to wild shape’s hit points. Everything else is secondary, but casters should avoid having a negative score in Dexterity, since it is likely going to impact their armor class.

Strength should be your dump stat, although you won’t get much use out of Intelligence either. If you spend most of your time wild shaped, consider ignoring Dexterity as well in favor of Charisma, since you can now speak while transformed, and even animals need Charisma throws to convince others of their views.

Best Spells For Druids

The best spells for your druid depend on how you play them, but at the earlier levels you’ll still be getting used to the class. Consider the table below for recommended low level spells, and don’t be afraid to experiment; you can change spells every long rest after all.

Once you gain a subclass, consider the spells they give you carefully: they tend to be the most powerful options for the level they are offered. Also, remember that you can cast a limited list of spells when wild shaped, if you choose the circle of the moon subclass.

Best Feats, Backgrounds And Starting Equipment

The background you pick will mostly depend, as everything does with a druid, if you’ll be wild shaping a lot or not. If you will, then you want the farmer background for the tough origin feat, since you’ll need the extra health, otherwise you’d want something like hermit, making you better at healing others.

As for general feats, a good one for druids is war caster, since a lot of their most powerful spells require concentration. It also allows moon druids transformed into cats to cast Starry Wisp as an opportunity attack, surprising your enemies with a sudden D8 damage.

The starting equipment for druids is as good as it gets, giving you decent protection and even a staff should you want to take the Shillelagh cantrip. As you level up, you’ll rely more on your spells and wild shapes than equipment to solve problems.

Best Multiclass Options

The best thing to keep in mind when multiclassing, is that you can use nearly all class features when wild shaped. That means that, with just a few levels into a class, your bear form can suddenly use abilities from other martial classes.

Fighter is a rather popular choice, giving you second wind and fighting styles at level one, and action surge at level two. This means that your wild shape can take two actions in a single turn, or have a fighting style like blind fighting.